Cops: Ex-Shelton official took more than $914,000

Updated 12:00 am, Wednesday, February 6, 2013

SHELTON -- She was so unassuming and plain -- "vanilla" as some would call her -- that Sharon Scanlon's alleged embezzlement of more than $900,000 in city funds went unnoticed for many years.

But now, State Police accuse Scanlon, the city's former assistant finance director who seemed to blend into the woodwork, of making dozens of fraudulent deposits in amounts from $7,000 to $12,000, to two personal bank accounts from 2001 to July 2012.

Scanlon, who was arrested Jan. 23 on one count of first-degree larceny and 55 counts of first-degree forgery, was arraigned Tuesday morning in state Superior Court in Derby.

And while co-workers never suspected Scanlon would steal from the city, one co-worker, in the arrest affidavit, said she "always wondered how our accounting department's money never balanced on paper and at the end an adjustment would be made without real justification."

Just how this wife and mother used the money she allegedly embezzled isn't clear and has many in the city shaking their heads in disbelief at the final tally -- $914,153, according to the criminal investigation by state police.

Scanlon, 48, wore a plain gray winter coat and black slacks, her dark hair pinned back for her court appearance. She didn't speak during the brief session.

Her New Haven attorney, William F. Dow, III, said she will enter a plea of not guilty when she appears next in state Superior Court in Milford on Feb. 26.

"She has the significant and warm support of her friends and family," Dow said later in the day.

Dow wouldn't speculate on where the stolen money went, either.

Scanlon didn't flaunt her spending and lifestyle, unlike former Oxford tax collector, Karen Guillet, 63, who lived a lavish lifestyle, making dozens of purchases at high-end department stores, like Neiman Marcus and Lord & Taylor, with her stolen money and taking trips to casinos and spending more than $9,000 during a nine-month period at a Southbury salon and spa.

Guillet, who accepted a plea deal last summer, was sentenced to four years in prison Nov. 7 for embezzling $234,902 from Oxford.

But Scanlon didn't drive expensive cars or wear fancy clothes, although one co-worker, in the arrest affidavit, said she heard Scanlon had purchased "an expensive camper and expensive truck" that her family used for vacations.

That person also said she believed that Scanlon's husband "did not bring in any substantial income."

Scanlon owns a home on Crescent Drive assessed at $285,100, which the city has started to place a lien on.

That same co-worker, a woman who apparently helped uncover the fraud, said Scanlon often complained about her struggles to pay bills, according to the arrest affidavit. She said this included "her kid's college tuition."

Scanlon resigned from the job she held for 17 years shortly before a criminal investigation into the matter was launched in August at the request of Mayor Mark A. Lauretti.

The investigation was prompted by an audit that discovered that Scanlon had been depositing checks made out to her. The audit began after employees in the city's Finance Department saw what they thought was a "questionable check located on Scanlon's desk in her absence," according to the arrest affidavit.

It was found while co-workers were looking for information regarding a grant payment "in the area of Scanlon's office desk."

The fraud was detected through a check log that did not agree with the general fund bank statements, the affidavit said.

The state police investigation also found that Scanlon "destroyed or got rid of the majority of the self-incriminating evidence" against her in this case. However, she "inadvertently missed" some of the canceled checks made payable to her that were found in the accounting department's files.

Scanlon was described by one subordinate as a "laid back boss with very little managerial skills" who would "spend a large amount of her time on the Internet," according to the arrest affidavit.

Another co-worker, in the affidavit, said she felt Scanlon had "more authority than she should have" and that Scanlon had "control of almost everything in the accounting department."